“And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV
During worship on Sunday, I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to hug my brothers and sisters. I felt waves of love and compassion for them wash over me. I didn’t act on it…that would have been weird…but I did lean into those emotions to hear what Father would say. I love how the Lord will speak through our emotions to get our attention, and how eager He is to share His heart with His children. We serve a God that wants to know us and be known by us! The worst rebuke we could ever hear from Jesus is to be told “depart from Me, I never knew you”. (Matthew 7:21-23)
As I was listening to hear what the Lord would say, I saw three images…a superimposed photo, a prickly pear plant and a tree stump sprouting a few tender shoots. I would like to address the significance of each separately.
What I was discerning through my emotions was the Father’s overwhelming love for His children, His creation and the very essence of His being. He is a Father that embraces us, sometimes tenderly, so as not to break us when we’re a bit bruised, and sometimes fiercely, when we forget how much we’re love and we need to be held. When my three-year-old grandson gets overwhelmed by emotions to weighty to carry by his little self, he melts down and his mummy scoops him up, kicking and screaming, and holds him until he quiets down and relaxes into her. It’s such a beautiful picture of those bear hugs the father has for us. They sooth and comfort us when nothing else will do.
The problem is that many of us have an intellectual grip on the Father’s love for us, but we do not have an experiential revelation of His loving everlasting arms upholding us. The Word is clear: The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’ (Deut. 33:27)
Which brings me to the superimposed photos. Remember back in the day, when we had to wind the film in a camera in order to get a new exposure. If you didn’t do it right, two photos would superimposed over each other, making both a bit blurry, sometimes creating very unsettling, eerie images. Some people see Father God like that…because they still have a picture of another face superimposed over God’s face. The face of their abuser, betrayer, their neglectful parent, the one who left and the one who spitefully used them covers the face of God.
I know how painful it is to be misunderstood, falsely accused or treated with suspicion. So does the Father. It pains Him to be so misrepresented and misunderstood and He wants to clear up the mistaken identity, so that we would know Him and allow Him to break down the walls around our hearts.
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He relents from sending calamity.” (Psalm 103:8)
Now for the prickly pear. It’s a plant covered in a myriad of tiny, fine thorny prickles. When they penetrate the skin they cause a great deal of discomfort but because they are so fine, they come almost invisible. You can’t see them to remove them, but boy, can you feel them. Every time something brushes against that prickle it makes itself known. However, the fruit of the prickly pear is delicious to eat…if you know how to harvest them and to peel them using a knife and fork.
What do they represent then? Those of us who can bear much fruit, good-to-eat fruit, but cannot be handled without kid gloves. When we don’t understand how we are loved by the father, and we cannot let our walls down to receive His love that heals us, we become like the prickly pear…thorny and defensive and very difficult to be around. Can you see how this plays to the enemy’s strength? He divides to conquer and the body gets robbed of the nourishing fruit of a brother or sister in Christ.
Lastly, the sprouting tree stump, represent those who work so hard to chop down destructive trees in their garden. They work hard and diligently to chop at the tree, disposing of the green waste, but never getting to the root of the problem. When the first bit of rains fall, there comes another shoot, and they have to deal with it again…and again…and again until they are worn out and feel defeated.
For many of us its true that we have untended roots of grief, bitterness, trauma and even a bit of rebellion caused by a lifetime of rejection, neglect, and abandonment. Again, the remedy lies in letting the Father into the deepest parts of our heart, to bring healing and restoration.
Today my prayer is for us to have a fresh encounter with the love of the Father, to lean into His bear hug, to allow His love and compassion to wash over us so that we can be free, whole and productive; bringing life and light to the dark world around us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38, 39